Intel watchers... Odds of a next gen Mini by year's end?

[Decrepit]

Hi there.

I know I shouldn't get greedy after how long the last update took to come out, but I'm thinking ahead.

Are there Intel chips in the pipeline that would be logical replacements for the current set in the new Mini? I'd read that there was a big generation jump coming for notebooks by year's end, but forget where that ended up.

Any ideas?

Basically, if I can see justification for a new Mini line by the end of the year, I'll hang out with my perfectly happy G4. But if there's nothing in the pipeline for 2009, I will jump on a new Mini now since Snow Leopard won't run on my G4.

Just wondering what the industry followers think about new chips/chipsets due this year.

Thanks!

[nuckinfutz]

The most logical next mini CPU isn't due until next year.

Arrandale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehalem_(microarchitecture))

Dual-Core for threads
18/25/35 watt TDP

Perfect replacement for the current Mobile Core 2 Duo. The only problem I can see are the graphics. We wouldn't have Nvidia graphics anymore so that would be a step back.

[dubhe]

I don't see the mini being updated this year, what they have now is a leap ahead of the previous generation mini. It isn't meant to be cutting edge, it is meant to be an affordable multi purpose machine, it does that already.

[wesleyh]

I don't see the mini being updated this year, what they have now is a leap ahead of the previous generation mini. It isn't meant to be cutting edge, it is meant to be an affordable multi purpose machine, it does that already.

Yep, it's an affordable single purpose mac.

[dubhe]

Yep, it's an affordable single purpose mac.

Mine multitasks just fine thanks ;)

[300D]

The mini likely won't be updated for another 1-1/2 years.

[arcadeforest]

Mine multitasks just fine thanks ;)

I'm with you on that. The mini is a great machine that does just about everything any apple user on these boards would want to do with their computer. Will a high end iMac or Mac Pro do the job on some intensive tasks faster? Sure. Is it worth the extra $$$ for that speed convience? Maybe, maybe not.

[Rizvi1]

I don't see the mini being updated this year, what they have now is a leap ahead of the previous generation mini. It isn't meant to be cutting edge, it is meant to be an affordable multi purpose machine, it does that already.

That being said, it probably wouldn't be advisable for someone to buy a previous generation Mac Mini right now, right? I myself purchased a 1.83ghz Mac Mini C2D earlier this year used on craigslist and it's a secondary house computer and should be good for its purpose.

My cousin wants to get one too for his apartment and I think he'll go the craigslist route to save money. And if he buys one that's recent, he can still get the warranty